AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three families, whose relatives died while in Texas prisons during a summer heat wave, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court Thursday against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or TDCJ, for "cruel and unusual punishment."
"Their loved ones suffered and that led to their deaths in brutally hot, un-air-conditioned cells inside [TDCJ] prisons," the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit named the deceased: Jon Southards, Elizabeth Hagerty and John Skinner. They had been confined to the TDCJ's Estelle, Lane Murray, and Wainwright facilities. All three died during the summer of 2023, according to the lawsuit.
2023 | Texas inmates ‘being cooked alive’ in heatwave with no air conditioningThe lawsuit states that the defendants knew and some had previously testified that the summer heat in prisons creates life-threatening risks to inmates with certain medical conditions, like the deceased. Each of the deceased was prescribed medications that increased their risk of heat-related illness. Attorneys for their families said in the lawsuit that TDCJ and corrections officers knew about that vulnerability.
Along with TDCJ, defendants include the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ), the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier, TDCJ Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lannette Linthicum, UTMB Chief Physician Executive Dr. Owen Murray, three wardens, two TDCJ regional directors and two TDCJ correctional officers.
KXAN reached out to the defendants for a response to the lawsuit. UTMB declined to comment.
TDCJ Deputy Director of Communications Hannah Haney responded to KXAN's request on behalf of the agency.
"Core to this department’s mission is protecting the public, our employees, and the inmates in our custody," she wrote. "It is a responsibility that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice takes seriously."
The agency is adding more "cool beds" to their facilities, but needs the Texas Legislature to approve more funds. The TDCJ will ask for $118 million to continue its air conditioning construction projects, according to Haney.
"During the 88th Texas Legislative session, TDCJ received a historic infusion of funding for major repair and improvement projects at facilities. Specifically, the agency received $85 million to install additional air conditioning," she said. "[$118 million] would provide an additional 18,000 air-conditioned beds to the system."
TDCJ uses "Enhanced Heat Protocols" each year between April 15 and Oct. 31. However, the plaintiffs accuse TDCJ employees of failing to meet that standard when it came to the deceased.
"[Defendants] knew TDCJ’s un-air-conditioned prisoner living areas exposed prisoners with disabilities to an increased risk of suffering and dying from the heat," the lawsuit reads. "[Defendants] knew [the deceased] needed reasonable accommodations because of their disabilities, including, but not limited to, air-conditioned housing; and yet denied ... these reasonable, necessary, and obvious accommodations."
‘Cooked to death’: Civil rights advocates sue TDCJ over heatUS District Court Judge Robert Pitman ruled in March on a similar case from 2023. He said that extreme heat in Texas' prisons was "plainly unconstitutional" and that the case could proceed to a trial. His temporary order did not mandate the installation of AC units at all prisons due to the limited scope of such an order.
That ruling was referenced in Thursday's wrongful death lawsuit. Austin law firm Edwards Law represents the plaintiffs in both cases.
"Judge Pitman found that TDCJ routinely undercuts its administration of heat mitigation measures by falsifying temperature records at prisons without air conditioning, reflecting that its staff disregard the actual heat levels," the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff families requested that a jury decide whether the defendants must pay damages.
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